You, Forever by TwiAddictAnne
by cheaterscontest
Summary: Every successful relationship is based on trust. What if someone broke that trust because they loved their other half too much? Will they find their way back to each other? A story of making one's way through obstacles to get back what was lost. CheatersContest Entry.


**Title of Story: You, Forever**

 **Rating: M**

 **Pairing: Edward/Bella**

 **Genre: Romance, Hurt/Comfort**

 **Word Count: 4825**

 **Story Summary: Every successful relationship is based on trust. What if someone broke that trust because they loved their other half too much? Will they find their way back to each other? A story of making one's way through obstacles to get back what was lost.**

 **Standard Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

*O*o*O*

A moment is a short period of time.

A moment can change our lives drastically.

A moment can redefine who we are in the blink of an eye.

A moment is strong like that.

And this was such a moment in her life.

*O*o*O*

"Is that all of it?" He asks from the doorway. She tries to detect a note of dismay, or sadness or even desperation in his tone, but all she hears is a hollowness in there … an emptiness that she put in him.

With a sigh, she nods. "I guess." Her voice is small as she answers.

In her heart, she wishes she could turn back time and undo all the mistakes that have led them to this moment, but her mind tells her it's over now … that this is the end.

He lifts the bag from the floor and starts making his way toward the door. Silence surrounds them as she follows him to the door.

At the threshold, she hesitates. Her heart twists in her chest as she realizes that there will be no turning back once she takes that last step. In a soft whisper, she calls his name one last time. "Edward ..."

He doesn't meet her eyes then. With his eyes fixed at his feet, he whispers back, "Have a good life, Bella."

Suppressing a sigh, she steps through the threshold and in that moment, she feels her heart break just like her broken marriage.

*O*o*O*

"You look like a hobo."

Bella sits up and tries to be subtle about rolling her eyes at her sister. "I know, Rose," she replies. "You've told me the same thing since the day I asked whether I could crash here with you for a bit."

"I'm only stating the facts, little sis," her sister answers. Maybe the look of hopelessness in her eyes melts Rosalie's heart because when she speaks again, her tone is softer. "B, why don't you go and see him?"

"Who?" Bella asks sharply, already dreading the answer to her question.

Rosalie whispers the name as if it was a curse word. "Jacob."

Like a bullet, Bella shoots up from her seat on the couch. "What the fuck, Rose? Why would you even say that? Am I taking up too much space in here? Do you need your couch space back? Is that it?" she spits out, throwing her hands up in the air.

Instead of moving away from the topic like she usually does, her sister asks back, "Why not? You left your husband for him, B. So you might as well go and make things work with him."

Bella's body stiffens at the suggestion. "No," she responds stonily.

"Why the hell not?" Rosalie demanded.

"Because I don't love him!"

Bella's answer makes Rosalie take a sharp breath. For a long moment, she observes her sister and then asks softly, "What about Edward then?"

When Bella doesn't reply, Rosalie places a hand on her shoulder. "Bell?"

A loud sob escapes her then as she throws herself in her sister's arms. "I never stopped loving him, Rose," she says quietly.

And that's the moment when Rosalie McCarty decided that she needs to help her sister get her life back.

*O*o*O*

"That's none of your goddamn business!" Bella stops in her tracks, her hand on the doorknob as she hears Rosalie shout at someone from the other side of the house.

"Look, she's been through enough," she hears Rosalie say. "Just leave my sister alone."

Bella hears someone scoff in response. " _She's_ been through enough? Really, Rosalie? You have the nerve to say that to me? _Your_ sister broke _my_ brother's heart! And now you're telling me that _she's_ been through enough?"

Even with the door muffling the sound, Bella recognizes her sister-in-law's voice.

"Alice!" Rosalie says, sounding shocked. "Bella loves Edward. She just made a mistake ..."

Alice doesn't let Rosalie finish and snaps at her. "Mistake? _Mistake?_ Rosalie, she went and fucked a guy from high school while my brother was out of the country, working hard to get her everything she could ever want. Tell me how that can be a mistake!"

There's silence for a moment before Alice says, "He's a mess, Rose. I've never seen my brother like that."

Of all the things she could've said, that makes Bella's will break down, and she hurries through the door. "What's wrong with him?" she asks Alice as soon as their eyes meet.

Her sudden appearance in the room leaves the other two women standing slack-jawed, as she looks frantically from one to the other. Finally, she focuses on her sister-in-law. Walking briskly toward her, she stops right in front of her and pleads, "Alice, please, tell me what's wrong with him."

Alice's usually smiling face pulls back into a sneer as she looks Bella from head to toe. When she speaks, she addresses Rosalie even though her eyes never leave Bella. "I see your sister has survived," she remarks haughtily. "If she supposedly loved my brother like you insisted, Rosalie, she'd be a mess."

"Alice!"

Rosalie's warning tone falls to deaf ears as Alice asks Bella, "So tell me, Bella, why did you do it if you love Edward like Rosalie here claims. Did you fall for Black too?"

Bella feels her walls rising as she glares at Alice. "I did not fall for him, Alice," she says through gritted teeth. "The only one I've ever loved is your brother."

"Maybe you didn't fall in love with him, but that didn't stop you from falling on his dick!"

Alice's crude remark makes Bella flinch and she feels Rosalie's arms wrap around her. "Alice, don't you think you've said enough?" Rosalie asks tersely. "I think it's time you left."

Rolling her eyes at the two of them, Alice Cullen starts to walk out of the room. When she's almost at the door, she turns around and looks directly into Bella's eyes as she says, "Don't worry about my brother, Bella. He has his whole family with him. I'll make sure he finds a girl more suited to his class this time."

Bella watches Alice walk out of the room, much like all of her in-laws who have all walked out of her life. When the door shuts behind Alice, Bella dissolves into tears in her sister's arms.

*O*o*O*

Weeks pass, Bella starts to slowly come to terms to the fact that her life will have to go on without him … without Edward.

Rosalie keeps pushing her to start living like she used to before Edward Cullen came into her life, but Bella fails to do that. Not because she doesn't want to, but because she can't … she can't remember the time when Edward wasn't a part of her life.

Then one day at Walmart, when the cashier hands her credit card back to her and wishes her, "Have a pleasant day, Ms. Cullen," unbidden teardrops find their way down her cheeks.

Later, sitting inside her sister's car at the car park, she mourns the loss of the name she used to adorn her name with. As she starts driving back to Rosalie's house with tears clouding her vision, she fails to notice a patch of black ice until the car hits it. The car swerves out of control as she tries desperately to get it back on track.

All her attempts become futile when another car hits hers from the back hard. In the moment it takes the car to tumble like a piece of scrap metal, Bella realizes that this is the end, and she will die without seeing her Edward ever again.

And that's the moment darkness of unconsciousness claims her.

*O*o*O*

Limbo.

Oblivion.

A transient moment between life and death.

A moment when your mind wants to give up, but your heart still tries to keep on beating, seeking the light at the end of the tunnel.

It's a moment such as this when the sound of a familiar voice breaks through the haze of medically induced coma.

"Move away, Alice," the voice asks sternly.

"No!" another voice argues with the first one. "Have you forgotten what she did? She destroyed you! You don't have to be here."

The first voice sounds angrier this time. "Move the fuck away, Alice. It doesn't matter what she did to me. She's still my wife!"

"Your wife?" A laughter rings out after the exclamation. "Don't make me laugh, brother. She fucked another man. How can you still care for her?"

"Because I still love her."

There's sound of a commotion before she feels a hand on her face, touching her so softly like she's made of glass. She tries to open her eyes to see the face she hopes to be there, but the drugs pumping through her veins keep her incapacitated.

"Bella, baby?" the voice calls softly to her. "Open your eyes, please. Please, baby, come back to me." A teardrop falls on her cheek just after she feels a forehead press to hers.

That makes her heart win over her mind, and with a pained moan she calls his name in a garbled whisper. "Ed-ward?"

She opens her eyes then, and the first thing she sees is a beautiful smile on his face as he holds her to his chest, thanking God over and over as tears of relief falls from his eyes.

And in that moment, Bella feels like she's back in her true heaven.

*O*o*O*

The thing with the concept of heaven is, hell is never too far away.

Just like the opposite side of a penny, hell will always rear its ugly head on the flip side of heaven.

The moment Bella thinks that she's on the precipice of finding her heaven, hell comes charging in.

"Where is she? Where is my Bells?"

Bella feels a chill run down her spine at the sound of the voice she never wanted to hear again.

She feels Edward's hand fall off her waist in the middle of her rehabilitation session. She wants to take his hand in hers and hold it tight as if his presence would protect her from her personal hell. But fear and dread keeps her rooted in that spot, unable to move.

Alice's head pops in through the slightly open door, and with a gleeful smile on her face, she announces, "Your _wife_ has a visitor, Edward." The sneer in her tone makes Bella flinch.

"I don't ..."

Before she can get the words out of her mouth, a man with shoulder-length black hair and russet colored skin steps through the door. "Bells!" he calls out, and before Bella can move away from his way, he bounds through the room and pulls her into a hug.

The loss of Edward's skin on hers leaves her cold in spite of the man holding her. "I missed you so much," he says. "Why haven't you called me?" He doesn't allow her to respond before turning his gaze on Edward, his hand still roped around her waist. "And why wasn't I notified of her accident? I had to call her office to find out about this."

Bella doesn't like the accusatory frown on his face and placing the hand she doesn't have in a plaster, she pushes on his chest.

"Baby?" the man asks with a raised eyebrow at her, not letting his hold on her go.

The sound of the endearment on his tongue makes her feel sick to her stomach. She pushes again with all her might and cries out when he remains unwavering. "Let me go, Jacob!"

Before he can utter another word, Bella feels his hand being forced away from her body and the next thing she knows, Jacob Black is pressed against the wall with his collars being held in tight fists of her husband.

"She asked you to let go," Edward says through gritted teeth.

Jacob's eyes look past him and fall on her instead. With his hands in the air, he asks her, "Bells? What is the meaning of this, baby?"

"Don't call me that!" she responds stonily. "You don't have the right to call me that."

"Really?" A sneer comes over his face, showing his yellow teeth. "Then who does? This prick you married? Tell me, Bells, what does he have that I don't, huh? He's a fucking nerd! He was a fucking nerd when we were in school and guess what? He's still a fucking dumbass nerd."

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" she cries out, clasping her head in both of her hands. "Jacob, just leave. Okay? Don't say another word against him. Just go!"

Jacob huffs in annoyance. "Really, Bells? You don't want to hear me saying shit about him, but you'd let me screw you behind his back?"

"Black!" Edward's voice rings clear as he looks directly at Jacob. "Get out of here. Now."

Rolling his eyes, Jacob steps back. "Whatever, dude. Keep your slut. I don't need her anymore."

Silence follows his departure until Bella can't take it anymore. She turns to face Edward and starts, "Edward, I'm sor-"

She doesn't get to finish her words before Edward picks up his jacket, and with his eyes averted from her he addresses her sister. "Rosalie, I have some business to attend to. Please take care of your sister."

With that, he walks out of the room, leaving Bella alone for the first time since her accident.

*O*o*O*

A momentary relief.

A fleeting reprieve from hurt and sadness which lasts for just a moment.

And after that moment is gone, the hurt returns more intensified than before.

The moment Bella's phone rings with his name flashing on the display was one such moment.

"B, will you ever pick up your phone?" Rosalie's irritated voice breaks through Bella's train of thoughts.

"Hmm?"

She looks up to find her sister standing in front of her with a hand perched on her hip to show her annoyance. "Your phone, B," she repeats, holding out Bella's cell phone on the palm of her hand. "It's been ringing all morning."

Bella turns her face away from the phone, not feeling up to another chat with Jessica Stanley, her former classmate and now coworker. "If it's Jessica, please tell her I'm in the bathroom," she pleads with her sister.

Rolling her eyes, Rosalie smirks at her. "It's not Stanley," she says with a wiggle of her eyebrows. "In fact, I think you would want to take _this_ call."

Bella's eyebrows pull together as she reaches for her cell phone; one look at the caller id and she feels her heart beat faster. "It says Edward ..." she gasps, looking up at Rosalie.

Rosalie grins and backs out of the room.

Bella waits till she's sure Rosalie is out of earshot before pressing the answer button. "Hello?" she says softly into the phone, her breath catching in her throat in anticipation.

Without any greeting, his voice comes from the other side of the phone. "I just called to leave a message for you."

"About what?" she asks, feeling butterflies fluttering around in her stomach simply at the sound of his voice.

 _I missed you_ , she wants to tell him. _I love you still_ , her heart aches to say to him; but she remains quiet.

"Um … yeah," he stops, and she hears him take a deep breath. An image of him running his fingers through his hair comes to her mind as he always does when searching for the perfect word to describe his feelings. After what feels like years, she realizes her lips have turned upwards at the thought of him.

He clears his throat, gaining her attention. "So I know it's not the protocol in cases like ours," he says. "But I thought I'd give you a heads up because of your health and all."

 _He's rambling_ , she realizes. _He must be nervous._ The shaky tone of his voice reminded her of the first time he asked her out on a date. "Heads up about what?" she asks, smiling still.

"You should be getting mail some time today," he answers slowly. "From my lawyers."

Three words. Three small seemingly inconsequential words. That's all it takes to make her world tumble out of its axis. "Lawyers?" her voice sounds hoarse in her own ears when she asks.

"Yes," he says in a quiet voice. "Why drag this along when it's meant to end?"

A long moment of uncomfortable descends upon them as Bella tries to think of how to answer him, but then decides to keep her mouth shut.

It's he who breaks the silence. "Goodbye, Bella."

With those words, he hangs up, leaving her heart shattered in her chest as the phone drops through her numb fingers.

*O*o*O*

Disclosure.

A word used to indicate when a secret is revealed or a fact is made known.

The moment of disclosure is always something that rings with truth.

And when Rosalie finds her little sister sitting on the floor of her room with her head buried between her knees and sobbing inconsolably, she decides that one such moment is in order.

"B?" she calls softly, letting her hand fall atop Bella's head. "B, look at me." When Bella raises her head to meet her eyes, Rosalie feels her heart break for her sister. "Hey, li'l sis, what is it? What did he want?" she asks softly, cupping Bella's chin in her hand like she used to when they were kids.

Fat teardrops roll down her sister's cheeks as she answers, "A divorce."

"What?" Rosalie gasps. She knew that Bella and Edward's relationship was going through a rough patch, but a divorce? She never thought it would end there; not after the way Edward cared for her when she was in the hospital.

Bella nods, rubbing the palm of her hands over her face to dash away the tears, but new ones keep taking their places. "He said I should be getting the notice today."

"And you're gonna just sit on your ass and wait for the dumb dotted line to show up for you to sign on?"

She waits for a moment for Bella to acknowledge her, and when that doesn't happen, she says sternly, "Okay. Enough is enough. I know I said that it doesn't matter why you did what you did and that it isn't my shit to dig through, but this is not right. So if you need someone to talk to then ..." she stops and waves her hand in the air. "Hi! I'm here."

Her antics don't make her B talk. So she decides to do what her sister must need at that moment. She sits down on the floor next to her and holds her tight as she cries over the ruins of her wrecked marriage.

When Bella's sobbing quietens, the words come pouring out of her. It's like she's tired of holding everything in and needs to spill it all out.

"I know I probably don't even have the right to say this anymore," she starts with a sniffle. "But I truly love Edward. He's the only man I've ever loved, and I just don't know how to not love him."

Rosalie tries to keep her voice collected, not letting her confusion get the best of her. "Then why did you do this, B? You had such a good life together. Why ruin it?"

"Because I'm a stupid, suspicious bitch who doesn't deserve him."

Rosalie waits for her to continue, and Bella does. "You know how much time he devotes to his job at the hospital, right? I know it's the beginning of his career, and he needs to prove himself to his superiors." When Rosalie nods, Bella continues on. "A few months ago, his hours got worse. He couldn't get at least four hours of sleep before his pager went off. It was crazy. It was stressful," she says, looking down at her hands. "Not having him at home. I missed him, you know?"

A frown creases Rosalie's brows in confusion. She never expected her to be promiscuous. "So you went looking for Black because you missed Edward?"

"It wasn't just that," Bella answers slowly. "You know how a lonely mind can play tricks on you? That's what happened to me, Rose. One night, I called Edward on his cell phone because I was missing him terribly, and this other doctor, Tanya Denali, answered the call."

"Why would she have his personal phone?"

Nodding her head at Rosalie, Bella says, "That's exactly what I thought. Then a few days later, it happened again … and then again. As days went by, it started to feel like he was spending more time with that Tanya woman than me. That's when the green monster of jealousy reared its ugly head."

"Okay. So you thought he was cheating on you with Tanya, right?" Rosalie waits for Bella to acknowledge her question and when Bella nods, she asks again, "So where did Black come from? I thought he was out of the picture before you started dating Edward?"

"He was," Bella responds, unable to meet her sister's gaze. "But he moved to Seattle a few months back. And I sort of ran into him when I was at a very low point in my life."

"Then?"

"He invited me to have a cup of coffee with him. I knew Edward would flip if he knew I was spending time with Jacob. And so I agreed. I wanted to make Edward mad so badly, Rose. After the coffee, I went to hug Jacob for old time's sake, but he kissed me. I should've gotten angry. I should've pushed him away, but I didn't."

Rosalie sighs and lays a hand on Bella's shoulder. "That's how it happened? You wanted to get back at Edward and got into bed with Jacob to do so?" There's no accusation in her voice, only understanding and maybe pity.

Bella shakes her head, her hand dashing away the tears steadily falling down her cheeks. "I never let Jacob do anything more than kiss me, Rose," she says in a barely audible whisper.

"Then why …?"

Rosalie's question remains unfinished as Bella lifts her head to meet her eyes. "I let another man in, Rose. Instead of confronting Edward with my suspicions, I went and kissed another man. And I did it to hurt my husband. I … I don't deserve him."

*O*o*O*

Bella's agonized whisper keeps circling around in her head as Rosalie makes her way toward the elevators. She walks down the hallway, telling herself that she was making the right choice.

She takes a deep breath and then slowly knocks on the door.

"Come in," comes the answer from the other side.

With a determined set of her shoulders, she walks through, her mind set on getting her sister and brother-in-law justice.

It takes him a moment before looking up from the X-Ray plate he's been examining, and then he's on his feet, his eyes looking desperately behind Rosalie.

One look at his face tells Rosalie exactly who he is looking for. "She's fine," she says. "Don't worry. Besides, I thought you were trying to cut all ties with her?"

Her question makes Edward arrange his features behind a mask, and he nods. "Yes, she should be served the papers today."

"And yet you were worried for her," Rosalie challenges him with a raised eyebrow.

He opens his mouth, closes it and then opens it again. Rosalie feels a smile tug at her lips at his openly warring with himself. When he finally speaks, his words make her smile appear. "You can't stop loving someone just because they stopped loving you, Rosalie."

"So you still love her then?" Rosalie asks, wanting to make sure that she was doing the right thing for her sister.

"She's the only girl I've ever loved," he answers. "I don't know how to not love her."

"And yet you're ready to leave her?"

He shakes his head slowly. "No, I'm not ready; I don't think I ever will be. But why fight something I know she wants? I made a vow to her when I married her, Rosalie. I promised to give her everything her heart desires. If it's freedom she wants then that's what I shall give her."

"What if she doesn't?" She looks at the look of confusion on his face and snatches the opportunity. "What if she doesn't want to be free of you? What if she still loves you? What will happen then?"

A sad sigh escapes him. "But she doesn't love me. If she did, she wouldn't have slept with Black."

"She didn't."

Rosalie sees the way her words affect him. His eyes, just like her sister always says, reveal his feelings. She detects hope, elation, doubt and then sadness pass over his features as he processes the information.

Feeling bad for the heartbroken man standing before her, she repeats herself. "She didn't sleep with Black, Edward, and she still loves you."

"But she said that she cheated on me."

Rosalie shakes her head at her sister's stupidity. "She said that because when Black came onto her and kissed her without asking for her permission, she didn't stop him. That is what she meant when she said that she had cheated on you," she explains. When Edward goes to open his mouth, she adds quickly, "She thought that you were cheating on her with a colleague, so she wanted to get back at you."

"That's ridiculous!" Edward bursts out. "I've never thought of another girl since I first met your sister, Rosalie."

"I know that," she says calmly. "And so does Bella. That's why she felt so guilty over what she had done." She waits for a moment before adding, "I know she was stupid and made a mistake, Edward, but that girl loves you. It's her love for you that drove her to do it. It's screwed up, I know, but it's the fact. I know it's not my place to give you advice but ..."

Her words are cut off by the raising of his hand. Quietly, he asks, "Where is she?"

The moment Rosalie tells him Bella is at her place, he's out of the door, running off to find his girl.

*O*o*O*

In our lives, there comes a moment when we accept our defeat … may it be to someone else, or fate, or simply to ourselves.

As Bella sits with the divorce papers on her lap, she feels that moment arise. Dabbing at her eyes to stop the tears, she tries to accept the defeat.

"Stop it, Bella," she tells herself as one more teardrop falls on the sheet of paper in her hands. "You did the right thing."

"No, you didn't."

The sound of his voice makes her head snap up and she gasps, her mouth falling open in the shock of his appearance.

"You did a stupid thing, but what you did after that was definitely not the right thing." She watches him approach her as he speaks.

When he's standing right in front of her, he bends down and grab her arms, pulling her to her feet.

The feeling of his touch causes the goosebumps to break out on her skin like they always do, and that's what makes her realize that she's not dreaming. "Edward?" she asks in a faint voice. "Is it really you?"

Her question makes him sigh. "Silly Bella. Don't you remember any of our wedding vows?" Sensing her confusion, he cups her face and says, "I promised to give you anything your heart desired, so when I thought you wanted an out from our marriage, I fought against my heart and let you go."

"I don't ..."

He puts a finger on her lips and shushes her. "Shh. Baby, I know. Rosalie told me all of it. But you forgot another of our vows as well, didn't you?"

"What?"

With a smile, he tells her, "We promised to always find our ways back to each other. Remember that?" He waits for her to nod and then says, "So this is me wanting back what's mine." Placing a hand over the spot where he feels her heart beating, he asks, "Does it belong to me still?"

A loud sob escapes her before she falls into his arms. "Yes, it's always been yours, Edward. For me, it's always you … forever."

"Ditto, baby," he whispers before pulling her lips to his for a burning kiss.

*O*o*O*

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